Blog

This post is written by Bill Reagan, Executive Director of the SBDC and first appeared in the Alexandria Times on February 23, 2017. Savvy entrepreneurs recognize that their expertise has limits and that they don’t know what they don’t know. Surviving and thriving depend on learning how to ask questions and knowing where to look for… Read more »

Several days ago, visual merchandising expert DP Miller presented a workshop at the Alexandria SBDC on the 11 Basic Rules of Window & Interior Merchandising.  The speaker stressed that you must know the rules, and the reasons behind them, before you can “break” them.  This is the first of a three-part series on this subject… Read more »

So, you have had your small business or nonprofit organization up and running for at least a few months and someone asks you how your business is doing.  Do you have a response – and no, “Fine” is not a response.  At this time of year when people are working on their tax returns and… Read more »

Recently, the Alexandria SBDC presented their annual Marketing Trends Workshop, featuring Maurisa Potts of Spotted MP (Marketing + Public Relations).  Among the trends that were highlighted for the upcoming year are the following: Interactive Content – Get people participating in your business even before they are a customer. Interactive content includes activities such as polls,… Read more »

This post is written by Bill Reagan, Executive Director of the SBDC and first appeared in the Alexandria Times on January 27, 2017. Over the past year, there was considerable discussion about the impact of online competition on Alexandria small businesses. To be sure, Amazon and other online retailers give shoppers options that force our… Read more »

This article was written by Ray Sidney-Smith, facilitator for Alexandria Small Business Development Center’s monthly Business Development Roundtable. You may join us every third Tuesday, January through November, for different topic-based discussions for Small Business in the City of Alexandria, Virginia. What brands do you think about when you think about the biggest brands in… Read more »

Many small businesses will find themselves hiring their first, or additional, employees this year. There are several documents on our website that can help in this process, including the Employer Checklist. There are also PowerPoints from past workshops and worksheets on interviewing techniques and other aspects of hiring. These can be found on the virtual… Read more »

This post is written by Bill Reagan, Executive Director of the SBDC and first appeared in the Alexandria Times on December 22, 2016. Twenty years ago on December 17th, the Alexandria Small Business Development Center (SBDC) opened its doors to support and strengthen the small businesses that are central to Alexandria’s economy and character. Over… Read more »

This will be the last blog post for 2016, new weekly posts will begin again in early January! The Alexandria SBDC wishes all of its clients and supporters a very merry holiday season and a prosperous New Year! We enjoyed celebrating with many of you at our annual Holiday Kickoff reception on November 18th when about… Read more »

This post was written by Patricia Frame of Strategies for Human Resources, and originally appeared here. Since the new salary level test for overtime pay was first announced, we have offered extensive training and counseling on the Fair Labor Standard Act and who is required to be paid overtime. Many of the questions we got… Read more »